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Intro For New Players
Expect it to be confusing at first. It will probably take a while to get your feet wet/feel somewhat comfortable. Quick Advice (the short version) (copied, with permission, from jason_ac's Newbie Guide) After you've launched the game and it's downloaded any outstanding patches, do the ground & vehicle Tutorials (added by patch 1.50). Give up on the flight Tutorial the minute you're finding it too difficult. Staying alive in the air in-game is very hard so when you first start playing you're just going to be sticking to the ground anyway. Buy the Warhawk Booster Packs off the PSN Store so you have the extra maps & vehicles so you can play any game (there's a $16 bundle for all 3). Take a spare controller and try a few 2-player experiments in offline games you create yourself. Look over all the instructions for the game, free new game modes, & the booster packs. Then go online and join a "Rookie" server whose name is all in green. Filter to show only servers with either Team Deathmatch or Capture the Flag, whichever you like most. If CTF, stay at home and be a flag defender. Spend your time in a turret, and running around on foot. Other tips, explanations, and facts for new players can be found by reading this entire article, and the main Tips and tricks article. General Strategies for first games (copied, with permission, from jason_ac's Newbie Guide) Get the latest patch Make sure you're running the latest patch. If you install and startup the game, it should automatically prompt you to download the latest one, which as of this writing is # 1.50. Finish the tutorials...or no? Completing the flight portion of the tutorial is tougher than completing the ground and vehicle tutorials. Since flight online is rather challenging (you will be shot down VERY frequently), and you will probably start out on the ground anyway, you may wish finish the ground & vehicle tutorials, then give up on the flight Tutorial the minute you're finding it too difficult. Play your first online games on the ground. The converse to that advice is to start digging into flying from the get-go. Since it will take so long to get good at it, the sooner you start, the sooner you'll be good. But if you are someone who prefers ground, or initially is finding flying to be frustrating, then don't fly for now. Add-On packs...or no? In the PlayStation Network Store, Sony sells add-on "booster" packs for the full Warhawk game that include new maps and vehicles. While many standard games can be played online without any problem, if you finish an online round and the next game uses an add-on that you don't own, you will be forced off the server. Your options are to either buy the add-on packs and you'll have complete freedom (there's a $16 bundle of all 3), or set a set a filter on your Server List so that you're only shown servers for which you have "All Maps Resident". If you don't have a credit card, head out to a store and buy a PlayStation Network gift card. Play online or offline? Most Warhawk play is online. But while learning, you may wish to create a local game with just yourself to experiment. If you have 2-4 controllers, you can split the screen and now you'll have enemies (that you control) to experiment with in more ways. If you have 2-4 friends, you can learn a little offline, together, by playing offline games against each other. And, when you go online, those same 2-4 friends can still split the screen with you and all 4 of you can play in the same physical room in an online game against human opponents from around the world (in unranked servers only). Look at the manuals You should look through the instructions...there's the original game manual, instructions for the free new game modes, and instructions for the expansion booster packs. You can find all of these in the article Warhawk Help Which Servers? Initially, play only on "Rookie" servers whose names are all in a green font (those are official, ranked servers, limited just to newer players), or on player-created white-colored servers (which may be rank/stat-tracking or unranked) that have player-rank limits, so you're not playing against very advanced veterans. Of course, some VERY good players can be found even on rank-limited servers. In some cases these are veterans who have created alternate PSN IDs. Friendly Fire is turned-off on Rookie servers, so you won't hurt a teammate if you accidentally fire a rocket at him. To learn more about server types, interpreting their names, and their settings, see the article on servers. Which Game Mode for Beginners? You can filter your server list to only show you games of a certain type. You may wish to do so. Some Game Modes are a little simpler and you may find them an easier way to get started. *'Deathmatch' - Deathmatch is obviously a very simple mode and can let you practice fighting techniques without worrying much about strategy. Or Team Deathmatch which is similar but will be a little less free-for-all chaotic. *'Capture the Flag' - Another good beginner game mode is Capture the Flag. If you choose to stay near your home base as a flag defender, then the fight comes to you, you'll have teammates around, and you can help the team by getting good at killing flag grabbers. The drawback of course is that you're not learning the map, and, if there are significant lulls in attacks on your home flag (or anytime an opponent's managed to get away with it), then you're standing around idle not really helping your team. With any luck, you can still find some nearby enemies to hunt down. When you feel more capable, start going out and capturing bases. Then go for the other flag, or assist others. Use Your Mic Try and use the mic as much as possible for giving your team tips on where help is needed, or calling in air support if you have the flag. This is primarily a team game Run, Drive, Shoot, or Fly? As a beginner, some of the hardest tasks to master will be flying, or becoming expert with a tank. Some of the easiest skills you can develop will be manning a turret (simple as it is, there are things to learn about using turrets effectively), or developing your on-foot combat skills (there's a lot to learn to be a master on foot). *'Don't fly' - At first, don't start flying in a warhawk unless you have a high tolerance for being killed very frequently. You become extremely visible on the radar, and you will most likely be killed very quickly by another warhawk, soldier with a rocket launcher, or some anti-aircraft turret. Being killed so often can make it harder to learn. Enter at your own risk/frustration. *If you stay on the ground, you will learn some ideas about flying, as you will see the many ways pilots can avoid attacks from the ground, and how effectively they can assault ground targets. *'Yes, fly' - The converse to that advice is to start digging into flying from the get-go. Since it will take so long to get good at it, the sooner you start, the sooner you'll be good. But if you are someone who prefers ground, or initially is finding flying to be frustrating, then don't fly for now. *'Take a seat?' - If you want to start really easy (not flying), you might start by just getting your feet wet in a stationary turret. *'Start running' - On foot you can learn ground-pounder combat skills. Basic "Grounder" Facts and Controls (copied, with permission, from jason_ac's Newbie Guide) Weapons You always start with a Pistol with unlimited ammo (though it does require reloading), 2 grenades, and a Knife. Ground-pounders shouldn't leave home without at least an Automatic Rifle Pickup (machine gun-looking pickup with dark blue outline) and another Grenades pickup (canister-looking pickup with the green outline). You can carry a maximum of 6 grenades, each pickup gives you 2, and the pickups respawn pretty quickly. The Portable Rocket Launcher Pickup (long pickup with an orange outline) makes a great anti-warhawk and anti-tank weapon. Backpacks: Always pickup backpacks left by fallen soldiers. You will get whatever weapons they were carrying, and it will partially replenish any health you have lost. Basic Buttons R1 is your favorite button. It is the default fire button for everything. (soldier, tank, warhawk, etc..) The Square button is your 2nd favorite. It is the "Action" button, and what you use to climb a ladder, get in/out of a tank/jeep/warhawk, etc... "Camouflage" If you crouch (press the circle button), the bright red or blue badge above your head disappears, and then the only way for an enemy to determine if you're on their team or not is to point a weapon at you (since the reticle will turn red). Or on servers with no Friendly Fire, just shoot you and see if it injures you. With no badge, crouching may let you get closer to an enemy before his "alarm bells" go off, especially if you approach gradually from a direction he isn't paying a lot of attention to. Also, with no badge above your head, it's harder for warhawks to notice you from above or for snipers to pin-point you from a distance. In addition, your shooting is more accurate when you're crouching. Radar/Mini-map If you're walking around on foot, you do not show up on the mini-map unless an enemy is A) somewhat close to you; and B) has you roughly in the field of vision (or is aiming at you). But, you DO show up everytime you shoot, throw a grenade, etc, even if no one is looking at you...unless you're swinging a knife, that does not reveal you on the mini-map. If you spend the whole game holding a knife, you will never show on the radar. This means you cannot always blithely stroll through a seemingly-empty location. You have to be aware of where enemies may hide, because one could be in a corner aiming a rifle at you, and if you don't look around carefully, you'll never know it until he opens fire on you. If they surprise you and kill you with a knife, your teammates will get no warning there's an enemy nearby, since the knife is quiet, and doesn't show on the mini-map. This explains why you may find enemies crouching in buildings in your team's bases, wielding a knife. They're looking for a surprise kill that gives no warning to your teammates. Good Habits * Take down a few enemy warhawks when you get a chance. Grounders need air support, your team needs aerial presence, and pilots appreciate ground support. * Land Mines: Place a few strategic land mines (you can only have 4 active on the ground at once, when you place a 5th, your 1st one disappears)...and shoot any enemy land mines you see (those mines emit a light in the opposing team's color). * Air Mines: Shoot enemy air mines out of the air (if you're blue team, shoot the spiked "red reamers", if you're red team, shoot the rounded, non-spiked "blue balloons"). Don't shoot if a friendly warhawk is hovering next to the mine. But if it's an enemy, do! Taking Out the Big Boys On foot you can take out a tank with the Flame Thrower or a few Portable Rockets. Alternate with tossing a few grenades. You can take out warhawks with a few Portable Rockets. Nothing scares a warhawk trying to shoot you like you launching a missile towards it. If the warhawk is close and you're under assault, don't wait for the Rocket Launcher to lock-on. Just "dumb-fire" the rocket right at the warhawk. For more information, see details in the complete list of Weapons and Vehicles Fighting Soldiers On-Foot (G2G = Ground to Ground) Shooting people in the head kills them faster than in the body. When engaged in a 1-on-1 ground battle soldier-to-soldier, while firing your gun, continuously throw grenades at your enemy using L1 (having the full load of 6 grenades is really handy here). If your enemy is not up close, the Automatic Rifle may be your best bet for killing them (equip the rifle by pressing Right on the d-pad) If they are within approximately 10 feet, the Flame Thrower is awesome for killing them quickly. (equip the Flame Thrower by pressing Up + Left on the d-pad) If they are right next to you, you can kill them with one hit using your Knife. (equip the Knife by pressing Down on the d-pad) The Pistol can fire as fast as you can press it and has unlimited ammo (though it does need to be reloaded)! (equip the Pistol by pressing Left on the d-pad). Reload! A good idea for soldier weapons, jeeps, and turrets, remember to reload when there's a break in the action by pressing the weapon's appropriate button on the d-pad (excluding the flamethrower, sniper rifle, and binoculars). Turrets There are 2 types of turrets: AA_Turret and Missile Turret. They're easy to use, but if you find yourself sitting idle too much, get out and try some ground combat. Both turrets have their reticle turn red when an enemy aircraft is in range. * Flak Turret - The Anti-Aircraft turret shoots flak out rapidly, and can shoot about 25 times before needing to reload. This type of turret can also damage other large ground targets, like tanks and other turrets. * Missile Turret - The Missile Turret shoots two missiles at once and then needs to reload. Hold down R1 once an enemy is in range to get a lock (takes approx 3 secs), then release it to fire the missiles. These missiles can also be dumb-fired, and are effective at attacking slow-moving tanks and other turrets. Tips for both turret types *'Reduce your visibility' - When you enter a turret, you are visible on the map to everyone. This means pilots can decide to come after you, and ground troops can decide to take you out as well. It may be useful to regularly leave and re-enter a turret. If you exit it while it's reloading (or re-generating it's "health" subsequent to an attack), then you're not going to show up on radar and so can avoid being a big ole' target. Then, when it's all ready for action again (or if you see some choice targets coming your way), hop back in. *'Run fast!' - If you come under fire, it's usually a bad idea to try to get off "one last shot". Run from the turret! *'Reload!' - Remember to reload when there's a break in the action (press any direction on the D-pad).